Be more creative, parents urge PKC
Community opinions
Concerned parents have called for the council to be more flexible and creative in its review of a number of schools during a public meeting held earlier this week.
Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, held the gathering on Wednesday in Perth’s Royal George Hotel to hear the concerns and questions from parents affected by the on-going review.
Parents at the meeting said the number of options Perth and Kinross Council has been presenting to each school is not creative enough, adding more emphasis needs to be placed on the quality of education and the children rather than on numbers and money.
Those at the meeting added the council need to remember how important a school is to rural communities and said, often, the lack of afterschool and breakfast club provisions puts working parents off sending their children to the schools in question.
One woman from Logiealmond said: “Logiealmond is tiny but the education provision is fantastic. The reason the school is so small is a reflection of the small rural community - we have no broadband, no access to drinking water and no public transport, that is why there are not a lot of people there.
“But, Logiealmond is Cllr Caroline Shiers a thriving school with excellent education.”
A dad with a connection to Abernyte Primary School, which is set to hold a consultation event on Thursday, October 26, said parents often think twice about sending their children to Abernyte because it has been earmarked for review, and because the school roll is currently all girls.
Other parents at the meeting said if their school was to close, their children would have to travel significant distances to get to school.
One mother from Stanley Primary School, which is due for consultation next year, said: “Stanley is a large school but we have no breakfast or after-school facilities.
“If we close our children would go to Bankfoot [Auchtergaven Primary School] and I can’t get back out there to get her back because I don’t drive.”
Another concerned grandparent added: “Children of five shouldn’t have to travel for school, it is a long enough day for them as it is.
“It is about that little person age five going to school, this really must be about those little people.”
After hearing the issues raised at the meeting, Mr Wishart agreed to arrange for a group of parent representatives to go to education bosses at the council with their questions, adding it was clear from the discussions that all the schools are valued and that the on-going review is discouraging parents from sending their children to the schools in question in the future.
The review – which currently involves St Ninian’s, Balhousie, North Muirton, Braco, Blairingone, Abernyte, Logiealmond, Methven, and the mothballed Forteviot and Greenloaning primary schools – is being headedup by Cllr Caroline Shiers, convener for lifelong learning at Perth and Kinross Council, along with local authority officers.
Cllr Shiers said: “Having personally attended these sessions and spoken with many members of the public, representatives of community groups, parents and in some cases, pupils, I would like to thank all those who have already attended events and engaged in this process.
“Absolutely no decisions have been taken and the views expressed as part of the process will all be taken into consideration at the next stages of the review.”
Review should be about the little people